Published Bestsellers

Out On Top - A Collection of Upbeat Short Stories By Steve Morris "Take your pick: - Wrongs put right. Second chances in life. Lost loves reunited." We are long overdue a break. Out on Top is a bag of stories where wrongs are often put right. Instead of dwelling on what might have been, characters get their chances to rectify their regrets and tidy up their troubled pasts. Once-reluctant Romeos, clever creatures and innovative new technology sees the cast of Out on Top get second chances to see the truth finally come out whether it wants to or not. From the author of In All Probability, Out on Top sees Steve Morris return to set a few things straight. .. .. Find out more

Book Title: Short Stories - Volume Two Genre: Fiction: Short Stories / Thriller / Anthology Author: Neal James Be prepared to laugh, cry, shrink with fear as you listen for those bumps in the night, and fly away into outer space as you travel through the wormholes of your own mind. This collection of twenty-six stories is the second rollercoaster ride which Neal invites to you take with him. ‘Short Stories Volume Two’ will fill that coffee break or evening by the fire. There’s romance, crime, horror, science fiction, and just a hint of the paranormal among the twenty-six tales which he has spun for you. …Find out more…visit book web page www.pneumasprings.co.uk/ShortStories-VolumeTwo.htm “Short and snappy stories swathed in sheets of spun-out satisfaction” …publishedbestsellers.com Ebook | Kobo | Google Play | Amazon Kindle | Apple iBook | Nook

Be prepared to laugh, cry, shrink with fear as you listen for those bumps in the night, and fly away into outer space as you travel through the wormholes of your own mind. This collection of twenty-six stories is the second rollercoaster ride which Neal invites you to take with him.  ‘Short Stories Volume Two’ will fill that coffee break or evening by the fire. There’s romance, crime, horror, science fiction, and just a hint of the paranormal among the twenty-six tales which he has spun for you.  …Find out more… visit book page About the author: Neal James has been writing since 2008 when his first novel. ‘A Ticket to Tewkesbury’, was released. Since that time eight more books have followed, and ‘Short Stories Volume Two’ is his tenth work to be published in as many years.  He has appeared in both the national and local press, and has also been a regular at branches of Waterstones and local reading groups and libraries in his home counties of Derbyshire and Nottingham

This collection of 30 short tales packs in so much its hard to know where to start. Each tale packs a lot in with plenty of implied and hinted backstories and endings that let you build on the teaser style writing that Morris uses. Because of this, these stories don't feel anywhere near as short as they are and before you know it you have been pulled into Morris' world in all its strange, scary, odd and unsettling glory. Morris's writing flows as well as ever and will appeal to all types of reader (unless you really don't like short stories, but even then you should try these to see how well they can be done). I was particularly fond of It's An Ill Wind and Dead Eye, and was somewhat amused by Progress and Better Late Than Never. A few of the tales were also quite touching, especially Swan Song which I think definitely ranks in one of my favourites. A great collection, proven by the fact that I read the lot in one evening...oops. Sam's review, Dec 30, 2016

Short Stories and Essays on the Absurdities of Life Do you have enormous difficulty with your clothing? Does your cat think you’re stupid? Do you find history, holidays, travel, and even fruit funny? A Vaporous Collection of Moments is the author’s 3rd short story collection and contains 75 separate essays and stories about the absurdities, and hilarity, of everyday life. They include individual vignettes about the oddities of daily life. What others would say about this book, if they were living: “I came, I saw, I read!” - G.J. Caesar “Sic semper tyrrific!!” - J.W. Booth “I am not a pastry!” - L.H. Oswal The Author Dominic Macchiaroli is an author living in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been writing his entire life, and has published three books of short stories and essays, putting a humorous slant on topics like marriage, politics, history, house pets, even holiday recipes. Dom is a property manager by trade, and is the married father of two adult children. His books are ent

Better than a newspaper. Better than your usual reading material. Better than contemplating your kneecaps. Why be bored? Why be alone in there? This delightful book of short stories is brimming with amazing tales of humour, adventure, crime, love, horror, science fiction, fantasy and chance. The short stories and monologues in this book are snapshots of experiences, thoughts, people and places. They are just the right length to be read at a sitting and suit that most lonely of personal occasions. Enjoy some light entertaining reading whilst nature takes its course. You know it makes sense. ... Author John White says “This book of short stories represents some of the ideas dreamt up over the last four and a half years of my life since retirement. Long walks in the fresh air with a pen and notebook were my only companions. I hope you find the results worthwhile.” “Pick and choose while nature takes its course” …publishedbestsellers.com Ebook | Kobo | Google Play | Amaz

"Serendipity is a ‘Magic box of delights’. The author waves his wand and out come amazing stories of adventure, humour, initiative, nostalgia and chance. Sir Edward Elgar portrayed friends and family through music in his ‘Enigma Variations’. In Serendipity we observe people John Butler knew through the written word. Short stories are snapshots of people and places. Writing stories enables the author to really get to the bottom of something, rather than wander through life in an amorphous bubble. Like a Magic Box Serendipity allures with clever use of pun, alliteration, metaphor and simile; such as ‘flying filth’ and ‘minnows of boys like pilot fish leading a whale shark’…and many others.

In this book of short stories, John Butler demonstrates a rare talent for humorous comedy and three-dimensional writing skills, which make his work a joy to read. Each tale stands alone on merit and rightly deserves a place in the book. He does not insist on the convention that each story has to have a twist in the tail, but they are no less interesting for that. I’m not even sure that story is the right word for some of them, or does them full justice. If the reader wants variety then it is here in shed-loads. If thought provoking realism is your bag then you will find it in ‘The Death of the Hindenburg’ and others. The author’s light touch is carried on right through every page, so that you are quickly on to the next little satirical gem, almost before you realise it.

In ‘Serendipity’ there is something for everyone. If your taste is humour there are plenty including ‘It’s No Laughing Matter’, ‘Stop! …Don’t Go Any Further’. There are slices of real life in ‘Arthur’, ‘Lanky Franky’, ‘Death of the Hindenburg’ and ‘My Only Sunshine’. There is satire and irreligious ones–written without any malice. In the animal stories ‘The Dog’, ‘The Gulls’ Court’ and ‘The Camel’ the author gives himself full rein and enjoyed exercising anthropomorphism. In short ‘Serendipity’ is the word - take a dip and find your winner. Author John Butler says  “In this miscellany of fifty or more stories runs the gamut from humour, drama, satire, farce and fantasy to contemplative thinking, mystery and the supernatural. Serendipity embraces all the human emotions. Enjoy it! ”  John Butler is a retired head teacher and lecturer, he has spent forty years in education. For many years he has taught creative writing to adult groups. Being an avid reader of short stories, the au

"Even thought Jumble Tales can easily be read in one sitting, I took my time reading this book as I always like to do with short stories. I like to take in each story one at a time, analyse their structure, take in the message that they carry (if any) and just enjoy the story. And there is a lot to both analyse and enjoy in Jumble Tales. Each story focuses on a part of real life, whether it would be a football match, an assault in Iraq, a band trying to make it, or even just finding lost love in the most bizarre of places. The tales are nicely told and flow very well – and there is always a nice little twist at the end. The good thing is that it’s rare you can see what the twist is and it’s always a nice surprise. Only on a couple of stories did I guess what the ending would be. In short (no pun intended), Jumble Tales has a great mix of stories that will make you think, but are not overly preachy and can be enjoyed just for what they are. A lot of time and effort has clea

'In All Probability' and 'Jumble Tales' " These are two wonderfully delightful books by a man that has clearly had his own ups and downs in life. Steve Morris weaves tales of good fortune and hardship with a master storyteller's pen. I am use to anthologies that range from romance to horror and almost any other genre you can think of, but this is the first time I have read a book about the lot life can hand you and the good or bad that often comes with it. I'll admit I was skeptical going into these books but I was surprised to find the mixed bag of tales that both contained. These books prove that true life can often be just as wonderfully exciting, adventurous, and fantastic as tales woven from the gossamer fabric of fantasy. I will be looking for more to come from this UK Author! " Kitty Bullard Jumble Tales Ebook | Kobo |  Google Play |  Amazon Kindle |  Apple iBook | Nook In All Probability Ebook | Kobo |  Google Play |

An Anthology of Christmas Murders - Terror, Tinsel and Turkey Editor Jeremy Moiser Murder comes in all shapes and sizes. It also comes at inconvenient times. Christmas, for example. Season of goodwill, peace to all men (and women too, of course), homely jollity round the turkey and mince-pies. A time of family reunion and celebration, of good cheer, recollection and renewal. And of unexpected death. Lock the doors. Draw the curtains. Settle down in your armchair and enjoy ten stories by masters of the genre. Georgian England. 1960s and 1980s England. Twenty-first-century Africa, Canada, the USA. Murder by meat-hook, piano-wire, scarf, knife, hammer, golf-club, bullet, syringe …  And naturally all the classic motives: blackmail, revenge, disappointment, greed, anger, a perverted sense of duty ... Murders committed on impulse and murders carefully planned. A catalogue of weakness, hatred and villainy. It’s all here, at your elbow. And there’s more! Humour, intrig

Jumble Tales by Steve Morris By S. Shove "Ecobitch" (Cardiff) An ecclectic collection of tales that show how fickle Fate and Luck can be, this collection is cram packed with what ifs and if onlys and with each tale being the perfect length for a quick read at the bus stop, waiting in line or if you have a spare five minutes this is a superb book to have in your bag, just in case. Each tale has its own character based on dark humour, gritty real life and even a touch of romance and they even manage not to feel like short stories that rush to get everything but instead guide the reader through at a leisurly pace to ensure maximum enjoyment and impact. Morris writes in a very easy and accessible manner that a wide variety of readers will enjoy and this collection has a little tale for everyone, be you the hardened football fan, the old romantic, the action lover, the dark comedian or the cutting edge scientist.

Yet another excellent review of "Jumble Tales" The landscape that used to be the medium of the short story is quickly becoming an arid wasteland left to the childish musings of novelists interested in making a quick buck. Some, like Cormac McCarthy, have completely abandoned the medium as pointless. There are a few writers out there who are valiantly trying to keep the short story alive. Steve Morris is one of them. With his second short story collection, Jumble Tales, Mr. Morris illustrates eighteen individual stories with grace. His strengths lie in his ability to seamlessly bring us into the narrative, providing the reader with just enough to follow through the tale without being bogged down with trivial information. Many of the stories introduce a type of twist at the end, which, for the most part, is used effectively. There are times, however, that some of these twists seem a bit forced. For me the twist at the end of The Best Policy was jarring and, for me,

Some fun, some foolery and lots of short stories... Seen as the cast-offs of stories that weren’t good enough to warrant novelisation; short stories have a bit of bad rep. Morris challenged this preconception with his earlier collection In all Probability with a great degree of success, so it is perhaps no surprise that encouraged, he has produced a further compilation of shorts for our consumption. As with In all Probability, Jumble Tales is a mixed bag. Our favourites are One-Nil and Get it Out of Your System . Both offer a unique perspective of their protagonists and are brimming with humour, irony and ridiculously sublime wit. Each story possesses the now familiar unflinchingly open, matter-of-fact style that is synonymous with Morris’ writing; but as with its predecessor not all stories are made equal and there are a worryingly high percentage of duds in Jumble Tales.

This new collection of short stories by Steve Morris has some family ressemblances to his earlier work, because we see some familiar themes emerging. His protagonists are often misfits, or at least maladjusted in some way, and therefore they stand in some sense outside of mainstream society looking in. In this book, good reasons are given for this, such as lack of maturity, or past trauma. But let's face it; we all like to root for the underdog. And this makes it all the more possible to get into these stories. Steve seems to enjoy sports. I surmise this from the way in which his characters participate in them with such great intensity. Steve can convey the adrenaline of the individual team member as well as the spellbound fascination of the spectators. I suspect that Steve also has a great affection for animals. For he writes about them, sometimes with humour and sometimes with pathos. He tries something here which I think is new for him: one tail tale is narrated partly f

"I can’t predict future events. Neither can I pick race-winners nor National Lottery numbers alas. That would be easy money and I would have made my pile years ago. I don’t believe anyone actually can do those things. Ironically I’ve never believed in all that hocus-pocus nonsense. It’s all just tricks. What I can do is pick up the predominant thoughts of a person standing in front of me. Mine is an inherent ability, a science, and a human skill that so far only a few of us have learned how to use." Reviewed by A J Kirby In his introduction to Jumble Tales, Steve Morris writes, "Life is a gamble in itself and perhaps sometimes, too much of one. Its course of events is continually being determined by what is in effect, the equivalent of a series of dive throws, unpredictable to all but Lady Luck herself. The difference between fortune and misfortune often is as finely balanced and as simple as that". These stories, he writes "examine life’s possibilit

A collection of short stories. I must confess, I liked this set of stories as much as the collection in "Jumble Tales". These stories are just a little bit dark in nature. That does not take away from them in the least. I found this book very enjoyable and easy to read. I really like the writing style of this author. This is a great book to sit down and read a little bit at a time. The stories are long enough to be interesting yet, short enough to read at any time. All types of different subject matter could show up at any point in any tale. Each very different from the next yet, common at the same time. I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes it is nice to change up your reading material. Steve Morris allows you to do this without losing a lively, colorful, and lovable story. The collection is very diverse. I simply loved the characters. Not everyone can have a happy ending. It keeps you guessing, for the stories do not usually end the way you predict they will. Very

Out On Top - A Collection of Upbeat Short Stories | Fiction: Short Stories by Steve Morris

"The book contains 30 short stories. Every story is different, you won't find two similar ones. They are interesting and during the read you have no idea how they will end. Stories concern every part of everyday life. They are about ordinary people which we can identify with. In the stories we see that nothing is sure in life and we have to grab the opportunities while we can because only moments later they are gone and we are stuck with regrets or consequences of the wrong choice . The author shows us what people are capable of doing to fulfill their dreams or reach their goals. Every short story is unique. Although the stories are only few pages long they give you something to think about after you're finished. I found it difficult to read one story after another, simply because I was still stuck thinking about the previous one. The stories are especially perfect when you have only a little free time and you want to read something but don't want to disrupt your re